Ed emits a bark of laughter, but the amusement fades from his face almost immediately. "You know what? That doesn't surprise me in the least, Bess the Fearless Harvey. I don't know how you do it."
"Right now I'm doing it because I’ve come up with a new plan. It's a good one. A way for the gallery to capitalise on my TikTok fame."
He looks at me for several moments, before saying, "Of course you have. What's your plan?"
I take a sip from my glass and look out across the rooftops. "All will be revealed in the goodness of time."
Chapter twenty-six
Ed
"Nomoreletters,"Itell Mistral.
She swings around on her computer chair to face me. "What? Why? I haven't got through all the book clues yet."
"Because her emotional attachment to them and the soldier is...significant. It has to stop."
She stares at me with her mouth slightly ajar, like I'm the biggest moron out. "That's fully a good thing, Ed. It means she has an emotional attachment toyou.By proxy, or whatever. Isn't that what you want?"
"I didn't want to get it by what is essentially emotional manipulation and deception. I don't deserve to have her develop feelings for me if that's the way I've gone about it."
"Right." Mistral leans back in her chair. "I think I see what you're saying. I guess it's possible when she finds out it was you who wrote most of the letters, she might decide she has no emotional attachment anymore and then you don't have to worry. Though that kind of defeats the purpose."
A patron walks past the front desk and I wait until the automatic doors have closed behind them before I say, "I might havenorelationship, let alone a romantic one when that happens."
"Not if she keeps selling stuff at a ridiculous rate. Then she'll be all thankful and kissy for you saving her business."
The notion is utterly ridiculous. I snort and fold my arms. "I can't imagine that scenario ever eventuating."
Mistral propels her chair towards me, her oversized feet reaching forward like a raptor in full stride. When her knees are an inch from mine, she places a hand on my shoulder.
It's far too familiar and I move backwards out of her range.
"Okay, so. Did you do this to make her fall in love with you, or did you do this to save her business?"
"Save her business. Mostly."
She pulls herself forward again.
I push myself backwards.
"And that is what you are doing."
"But not at the cost of her emotions."
Several more raptor strides. "She'll transfer whatever she feels for the letter writer onto you. You're on to a sure thing. He was in love with someone else. You're not. And the clincher – he's literally dead. You've got a massive advantage there, my friend."
The wheels of my chair hit the wall and I have nowhere to go. "I've never been comfortable with this. She has enough material." I stand and walk away from her. "It stops now."
"Except for that one you wrote the other day that Elly's taking her time transcribing."
I stop and swivel to face her. "No. Not even that one."
Mistral raises her eyebrows and her hands. "Okidokes."
I lower my eyebrows. Her compliance was far too easy. "Mistral."
"Just one last one. Then everything's in place."
